Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Are you hungry?

At this exact moment, I feel gorged. I've descimated my blogs and except for a few friends I've only left the blogs that contain good chunks of meat. I went to bed feasting on Jeremiah, and woke up breaking fast with Romans and then after a brief interlude of 'activity', I sat down and feasted at this screen. I've got three different blogs open at this moment besides this page. Chris Hammer-Hodges is telling me to give up the good, to pursue the best.

It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.

Piper isn't saying that it is fine to indulge in wickedness or watch explicit videos, but that this is not the only issue. There is behaviour that is sinful and behaviour that is unhelpful. It's not just an issue of what we watch, but how much we watch. We must certainly deal with the former, but if we only deal with the former we will still be lacking. To truly progress in the journey of faith we must not just be prepared to set aside what is evil, we must also be prepared to set aside what is good in order to pursue the best. This is at the very heart of what it is to fast.

Peter Smythe is quoting an amazing story (taken from the book of Church History) about the apostle John. Well worth reading, it's a ways into a good post. It teaches how zealous we should be for our lost, and how seriously we should take our responsibility towards them.Jesse Phillips at Prophetically Speaking had a link to a Spiritual Gifts Test. I scored painfully low ( 1) in tongues. I'm thankful it wasn't a required admittance test before joining my IPHC church.And, John Smulo, a Jesus-follower,tempted me beyond my ability to keep silent with his request not to be stereotyped as a Christian.There is food out there. FOOD. M E A T. Challenge yourself. Read the word, and test it in the real world. Throw your scriptures out there for others to see and be proved wrong. Who knows, every now and then you just might be proved right. Don't go in to fight, but go in to be sharpened. The scriptures are already sharp, we just seem to get confused as to where the pointy end should go. Master your sword. Use your scriptures. Pull out your bible and spar with your brothers and sisters. Find your weaknesses in your practice. Gain confidence, stability, and the ability not to panic when you suddenly find yourself facing an enemy that won't let you run and get your Strongs. But remember it is to be used to destroy only the enemy. It has a special purpose for our brothers and sisters. Use it as God intended. And foremost, I encourage you to grow up.

I was digging. Searching for nuggets of meat. I went to Peter Smythes blog "The Real Faith" (can't remember how I originally got to Smythes blog) and he listed your blog, Prophetically Speaking, in his sidebar.

Gorged may be the wrong word. I'm still hungry, but I've got a mouthful and it could take awhile to chew all I've found today.I wish my score were higher, but I've only in the past year received the gift of tongues, so I shouldn't really be surprised.

I'm glad I found your blog, and I'll be back to it regularly and read some of the past posts.